Try This One-Pot Chicken and Dumplings Recipe When You Need a Comforting Dinner Fast (2024)

Our quick chicken and dumplings recipe makes it easy to enjoy this classic comfort food on a weeknight. Though the dish tastes like it simmered long and slow, it starts with cooked chicken and store-bought stock to streamline the prep. The rich chicken stew is packed with vegetables and crowned with fluffy drop dumplings, so it's a complete meal. And those dumplings; they are a magical combination of pantry ingredients; flour, baking powder, butter, and milk is transformed into tender dumplings.

Best of all, this cozy, nostalgic dinner comes together in about 45 minutes and uses one pot, so break out that Dutch oven—and be prepared to field weekly requests for this hearty meal.

Try This One-Pot Chicken and Dumplings Recipe When You Need a Comforting Dinner Fast (1)

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The Secrets to Fluffy Dumplings

Light, tender drop dumplings are easy to make, as long as you follow our recipe and keep these tips in mind:

Don't Overwork the Dumpling Dough

Just like when you make pancakes, mix the dumpling dough just until it comes together. First use a whisk to combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Then, cut in the butter and stir in the milk just until there are no patches of dry flour. It's okay if the dough looks a little lumpy.

Mixing the dough more than this is called overworking and will result in tough dumplings.

Cook the Dumplings With the Lid On

Drop heaping spoonfuls of the dumpling dough over the simmering chicken mixture and they will steam—as long as you put the lid on the pot. Putting the lid on means that the moisture that the stew creates stays in the pot and steams the dumplings. Steaming is key to producing light, airy dumplings; without the lid, dumplings are drier and harder. Let the dumplings steam for 12 minutes—no peeking.

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Directions

  1. Cook vegetables:

    In a large saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons butter over medium-high. Add onion, celery, and carrots and cook until onion is translucent, about 4 minutes.

  2. Add flour, then broth and simmer:

    Add 1/4 cup flour and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Gradually add broth, stirring constantly, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.

  3. Stir in chicken and beans:

    Stir in chicken and green beans and season with salt and pepper.

  4. Make dumplings:

    Whisk together 1 cup flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon coarse salt, and 2 tablespoons parsley.

  5. Add butter and milk:

    Cut in 2 tablespoons butter. Stir in milk.

  6. Drop batter over chicken mixture:

    Drop heaping spoonfuls batter on top of chicken mixture.

  7. Cook dumplings:

    Cover and simmer until dumplings are cooked through, about 12 minutes. Serve topped with additional chopped parsley.

Try This One-Pot Chicken and Dumplings Recipe When You Need a Comforting Dinner Fast (2)

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my chicken and dumplings watery?

If you follow our One-Pot Chicken and Dumplings recipe, the liquid for the chicken and dumplings should be rich and comforting, not watery. Adding too much liquid, whether that is water or broth, is the main reason the dish would be watery. You can thicken it by mixing a teaspoon or 2 of flour, or cornstarch with cold water, and then stirring in some liquid from the stew, then adding the slurry to the stew and heating it through until it thickens to the consistency you want.


Why are my chicken and dumplings hard?

There are two main reasons that the dumplings in chicken and dumplings turn out hard. One is the cooking; the dumplings will be hard if they are cooked too long or if they are cooked with the lid off so they simmer rather than steam and do not get the moisture from the stew as they cook.

The other reason for dry dumplings is overmixing the dough so that it doesn't rise as well, and the dumplings are dense not airy and will seem dry.


What goes with chicken and dumplings?

We think chicken and dumplings is a one-dish dinner, you really don't need to serve anything else with it. There's no need for bread or a starch because there are dumplings. If you want to add another vegetable, try sautéed broccoli or braised kale or go with roasted butternut squash or sweet potatoes.

Other Stew and Dumpling Recipes to Try:

  • Test Kitchen's Favorite Chicken and Dumplings
  • Mushroom-and-Dill Chicken and Dumplings
  • Green-Chile Chicken and Dumplings
  • Old-Fashioned Chicken and Dumplings
  • Cornmeal Dumpling Dough for Chicken and Dumplings
Try This One-Pot Chicken and Dumplings Recipe When You Need a Comforting Dinner Fast (2024)

FAQs

What goes with chicken and dumplings for dinner? ›

What are the best sides for chicken and dumplings? The ultimate companions range from mashed potatoes to light, crisp salads. Consider fluffy rice, bread variations like garlic bread or dinner rolls, and roasted or steamed vegetables to truly complement your creamy chicken and dumplings feast.

What makes chicken and dumplings tough? ›

(The baking powder is what gives the dumplings a nice, fluffy interior.) Then, add the melted butter and milk for moisture and fat. These also help the dumplings hold their shape, and keep them nice and tender. Don't over-mix the dough, or it will be tough and dense.

What helps thicken chicken and dumplings? ›

How can I thicken stove top chicken and dumplings? You can thicken this dish by adding more flour, or even cornstarch. Create a slurry with either of these ingredients and milk or water, then stir into your broth base until you get your desired consistency.

Why are my chicken and dumplings so watery? ›

Why is my chicken and dumplings watery? If you follow our One-Pot Chicken and Dumplings recipe, the liquid for the chicken and dumplings should be rich and comforting, not watery. Adding too much liquid, whether that is water or broth, is the main reason the dish would be watery.

What to make with dumplings for dinner? ›

The best side dishes to serve with Asian dumplings (East Asia) are ramen, tomato and egg stir fry, fried greens, chilli miso steamed aubergine, pork belly fried rice, cucumber salad (Oi Muchim), tahini miso noodles, and claypot tofu.

Can you eat dumplings as a meal? ›

They're good for lunch or dinner or breakfast. They're good steaming hot just out of the boiling pot, they're good cold, eaten standing in front of the fridge. Between the filling and the wrapper, a dumpling covers at least three food groups.

What is the secret to perfect dumplings? ›

Overworking the mixture, thus having heavy dumplings is a common mistake people make. Dumplings need very gentle handling, so mix only until the ingredients are just combined, and if your recipe involves rolling them out with extra flour, avoid using too much.

What to add to bland chicken and dumplings? ›

Aromatic vegetables like onion, celery, and carrots, a clove of garlic if you like garlic, your preferred herbs and spices, and some chicken stock. Chicken, of course, either a whole chicken cut into eight parts or a pack of bone in thighs. Simmer until almost done. Then you make the dumplings.

What are the 3 components of dumplings? ›

What are dumplings made of? The dumpling dough is made of three main ingredients: flour, water and salt.

How do you keep chicken dumplings from falling apart? ›

So that they cook perfectly, the dumplings need to steam, so cover the pot with its lid. Keep the pot at a gentle simmer when cooking the dumplings. An aggressive simmer or boiling will break them apart. Keep the heat low and cover the pot so that they steam.

Why are my chicken dumplings not fluffy? ›

Baking powder is the leavening agent of choice for fluffy dumplings. It is important that the right ratio of baking powder to flour be measured. Too little and the dumpling will not rise adequately; if there's too much baking powder, then the dumplings will rise and fall.

How do you thicken chicken and noodle broth? ›

Add Flour Or Cornstarch

Instead, ladle a small amount of broth into a separate bowl and let it cool. Add a few tablespoons of flour or cornstarch to the bowl and whisk until it's blended smooth. Next, bring the soup to a simmer and add the mixture back to the pot. Pro tip: Don't dump in the entire mixture at once.

Why do my dumplings fall apart when I cook them? ›

Homemade dumplings can fall apart for a number of different reasons, or any combination of them. Often they burst during cooking because they have too much filling for the amount of dough. Some doughs are too dry, so the dumplings won't stay sealed. Others can be too wet and sticky and end up tearing.

How do you thicken chicken and dumplings without cornstarch? ›

Add a roux: Make a roux by melting equal parts of butter and flour in a separate pan. Stir until it forms a smooth paste, and then whisk it into your chicken and dumpling mixture. This will thicken the broth.

What side dishes go well with dumplings? ›

The best side dishes to serve with dumplings are chicken noodle soup, beef and broccoli, ramen, bok choy, egg roll in a bowl, orange chicken, Chinese curry sauce, fried rice, hot and sour soup, kung pao chicken, cucumber salad, bao buns, stir-fried vegetables, sesame noodles, spring rolls, and crispy tofu.

What main dish goes well with dumplings? ›

Any kind of stewed meat and vegetables. Beef, lamb, pork or chicken, even a good root vegetable stew goes good with dumplings.

What do you normally have with dumplings? ›

Best Side Dishes to Serve with Dumplings and Potstickers
  • Fried Rice.
  • Chicken Noodle Soup.
  • Lettuce with Oyster Sauce and Garlic.
  • Cucumber Salad.
  • Egg Drop Soup.
  • Peanut Noodles with Chili Oil and Fried Garlic.
  • Pan-Fried Noodles.
  • Sweet and Sour Chicken.
Aug 11, 2023

Where do people eat chicken and dumplings? ›

Although chicken and dumplings is most commonly attributed to the South, it can also be found in the Midwest and may have even originated from a similar French Canadian dish that appeared in the Great Depression (says Wikipedia).

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